Riteish, Genelia's Imagine Meats among winners of PETA India Vegan Food Awards
Darpan News Desk IANS, 29 Oct, 2021 11:43 AM
Mumbai, Oct 29 (IANS) Bollywood star couple Riteish and Genelia Deshmukh's plant-based 'chicken nuggets', 'The Happy Nugs', have won the accolade for the Best Vegan Meat at the 2021 PETA India Vegan Food Awards.
The Deshmukhs have been developing plant-based meat alternatives under their Imagine Meat label. PETA, a global animal rights organisation, has been campaigning for people to switch over to a vegan diet.
The other winners ranged from Sofit soy milk (endorsed by John Abraham) to Haldiram's 'soan papdi', besides a vegan cheese, mayonnaise and even ghee. The online store Vegan Dukan was also among the honorees.
PETA announced the awards ahead of the World Vegan Day (November 1) and World Vegan Month. In a statement, it stated that 63 per cent of Indians are inclined to replace meats with plant-based options and 75 per cent are unable to digest milk properly.
"From creamy, dairy-free chocolate ice-cream to meat-free chicken, all these innovative foods are making it easy for people to pamper their taste buds without harming animals," says PETA India's vegan foods and nutrition specialist, Dr Kiran Ahuja.
The awards are being presented at the Vigyan Bhawan in the capital. Manoj Bajpayee was awarded the best actor award for his performance in Bhonsle. This his 3rd National Award.
Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, who led the cruise drug bust relating to superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan but now faces bribe allegations, reached Delhi on Monday evening but denied that he had been summoned by any agency.
NCB official sources have hinted that there is apparently no evidence of any "drug-related exchanges" in her alleged WhatsApp chats with Aryan Khan - the son of Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan - who has been arrested in the drugs case and currently in judicial custody till October 30.
The pony-tailed senior Khan sporting dark shades and a black facemask over a grey half-sleeved T-shirt was virtually mobbed by the paparazzi and the hordes of policemen as he entered the menacing barred gates of the ARCJ in the congested south Mumbai.
Along with Aryan Khan - the son of superstar Shah Rukh Khan, the other seven accused - arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau on October 3 after the October 2 raid on a rave party aboard a cruise ship - were also sent to judicial custody till October 30 by the court.
Talking of 'Sooryavanshi', the film is now set for a massive theatrical release after its run-ins with delays and uncertainties. The film which also stars Akshay Kumar, Jackie Shroff and Jaaved Jaaferi with Ajav Devgn and Ranveer Singh in extended cameo appearances, will hit the screens on November 5 and will quell the audience's hunger for a true blue Bollywood potboiler, this Diwali.
